The demand for experienced business analysts increases as the business analysis profession becomes more globally recognized and standardized, and employers acknowledge the value business analysts bring to their organizations. The business analyst plays an integral role within the business, uniting current industry knowledge, practical tools and techniques to deliver quality project solutions on time and within budget. Whether you are new to the profession or a seasoned business analyst, you will benefit from the knowledge and practical application of standard tools and techniques used in many industries today.

This course contains the same content as Procept courses Comprehensive Business Analysis 1: Planning, Monitoring and Communication; and Comprehensive Business Analysis 2: Elicitation, Analysis and Documentation, but packaged into five-day duration. The course covers four of the six Knowledge Areas from the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®) including: business analysis planning and monitoring; elicitation and collaboration; requirements analysis and design definition; and requirements lifecycle management. During the course, you will gain insight into the business analyst profession, the role business analysts play within an organization, the necessary skills required, and valuable applicable tools, techniques and methodologies for immediate use back on the job.

For those preparing for the Competency Certificate in Business Analysis (CCBA®) or the Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP®) designation, this course and our Enterprise and Strategic Analysis course will help to prepare you for the CCBA® or CBAP® designation.

This course is based on the Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® version 3.0.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Participants will gain practical skills to:

• Evaluate business analysis underlying competencies to gain an appreciation of how Business Analysts add value to an organization.
• Distinguish and give examples of the differences between business analysis and project management.
• Examine the profession, global standards, the professional organization and trends in the industry.
• Illustrate an effective requirements management process.
• Integrate effective writing practices into business analysis communication and documentation.
• List and give examples of different requirement types.
• Describe the steps required to complete a thorough stakeholder analysis.
• Produce the elements of a good Requirements Management Plan

1. 1. Prepare documents like: Functional decomposition diagram (Work Breakdown Structure, WBS)
   2. Risk Analysis Plan
   3. Communication Plan

• Interpret how the business analysis activities contribute to overall product/solution.
• Identify advantages and disadvantages of different elicitation techniques.
• Elicit requirements using eight different techniques.
• Design and develop seven types of process models using appropriate notation symbols.
• Identify advantages and disadvantages of different documentation techniques.
• Document requirements using 11 documentation techniques.
• Recognize and utilize six different modeling techniques.
• Organize and prioritize requirements.
• Create a requirement package.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Mastering Business Analysis is suitable for individuals who are:

• Pursuing a career in Business Analysis
• Business or Information Systems managers or staff who is new to business analysis.
• Experienced Business Analysts requiring better understanding of the role, or desiring formal recognition through certification.
• Project staff or managers currently combining the Business Analyst role with other duties.
• Business staff or managers who are working in Business Analyst environments, needing to interact with project managers and business analysts.
• Preparing to write the Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP®) and require a refresher on the concepts covered in the BABOK®

PREREQUISITE

There are no prerequisites for this course. It functions as a stand-alone course.

MATERIALS

You will receive a course binder containing copies of presentation slides, case studies, exercises and suggested solutions.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Introduction to Business Analysis

• Definitions of business analysis and business analyst,
• Common job titles,
• Key terms in business analysis,
• Competencies of a business analyst,
• The role of the BA in a project,
• Business analysis process,
• Differences between:
• • Project management
  • Financial Analysis
  • Quality Assurance
  • Business Analysis
• The International Institute of Business Analysis Business analysis core concept, model.
• The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge,

Introduction to Requirements

• Scope and Requirements
• Where do requirements come from?
• Types of requirements
• Differences between high-level and detailed requirements
• Characteristics of a good requirement

Stakeholder Analysis and Communication Strategy

• What is a stakeholder analysis?
• Impact and value of stakeholder analysis.
• Steps in completing stakeholder analysis.
• Techniques to analyze stakeholders.
• Develop a business analysis communication plan.
• Affinity diagram technique.

Business Analysis Planning

• Elements of a business analysis plan
• Value of creating a business analysis plan
• Differences between plan driven and change driven approaches
• Decision Analysis
• Requirement gathering strategies
• Functional decomposition Creating a Work Breakdown Structure
• Estimating business analysis activities
• Identifying requirement risks
• Developing risk plans
• Writing a business analysis plan

Elicitation

• Steps in completing document analysis
• Elicitation types
• Interviews
• Questionnaires
• Workshops
• Context diagram
• Use case daigram
• Prototypes
• Observation

Process Modelling

• Types of processes that exist in an organization
• Elements of a process model
• Seven types of process models
• Process models:
  • SIPOC
  • Flowcharts (functional and crossfunctional)
  • BPMN
  • Spaghetti Diagram
  • Activity Diagrams
  • Data Flow Diagrams
• Identify areas for improvement within a process

Documentation Techniques

•  Use case diagram
• Use cases and scenarios
• State diagram
• Data model
• Data dictionary

Requirements Analysis and Package

Definition of requirements analysis

Prioritizing requirements

Analyzing requirements

Requirement Package

Requirement Management

• Why scope/requirements change
• How to manage scope
• Managing changes to requirements
• Requirement attributes
• Traceability
• Verification and validation of requirements
• Problem tracking